I’m a Brony! Would I enjoy the official My Little Pony Convention? (aka MLP Fair)

So, I couldn’t help but notice this massive post (well, post was tiny, comments were many) on Equestrian Daily so I thought I’d help give a little more info on the convention and what to expect. Please feel free to share this on other sites if you think it’ll be helpful. Mind you, I’m not part of the planning of this event but I’ve been before and I thought I’d give you some idea of what to expect.

There will be men there. There have always been men at the MLP convention (I’ve been to several of them over the years). Some are MLP fans (yes, they existed well before FiM, they’ve just been quiet) and some are our husbands, boyfriends, etc. But, in the past, it was always about 30 to 40% men. I’m sure it will be more this year. 🙂 Traditionally there are men only contests (with sweet prizes) so I imagine that will be the case this year as well.

There will be love for Friendship is Magic AND the older stuff. I don’t know a single MLP collector that isn’t also a fan of the new show. Just keep in mind that there are many more years of older stuff so it’s inevitable that there will be more of that stuff around for sale. (Just FYI, to collectors Friendship is Magic toys are still part of the third generation (G3) so don’t panic if you don’t see the words G4 bandied about outside of brony circles. There will still be the current toys there.)

The collectors and the Bronies don’t hate each other! This is not a thing. Most of us consider ourselves Bronies/Fillies. Just because we started earlier doesn’t mean we’re all in a blood feud. We’re grown people who love magic ponies. We’re not exactly violent. But seriously, everyone is welcome. Love and rainbows, y’all.

I’m not part of the organization of the fair so I can’t speak to how geared towards FiM the majority of the events are but, this year, the fair is two days. If you’re a fan of MLP I highly recommend checking out the first day (ie, the day of the Hasbro tour) even if you don’t think the second day (which is more of the collecting related events) is for you. Speaking as a fan of toys in general, getting to see how they make the toys (and last time they let us see how they make other things such as Transformers and a few other brands) and the headquarters (which is something to see) is really a once in a lifetime chance. When the convention was last in RI a few years ago, we also got to see some prototype toys that were coming to market soon and the process behind how they created them, previews of the new animated specials that were coming out (keep in mind that this was pre-FiM so I wouldn’t be surprised if they had clips of next season to show this time), and they unveiled some new stuff coming to market.

Let me put it this way: My husband doesn’t care one bit about MLP and even he thought the Hasbro tour was one of the coolest things he’s ever seen. So, in short, if you are into toys at all but especially if you are into My Little Pony I don’t think you can go wrong with trying to get into that.

There will probably not really be a chance to suggest new products. You can try, I suppose, but that’s not really the vibe.

As for the second day, it’s is going to mostly be like this: People will be chilling at their booths and chatting ponies. Almost everyone will have stuff for sale. Yes, much of it will be old but some will be new. Events will be going on and, at least based on prior years, some people will pay attention to them and others will ignore them completely and keep on doing their thing. Think of it like a brony meet-up where money occasionally changes hands or random things happen in the background. It will be very chill and laid back. If you wanted to just sit in a corner and ignore us all I suppose you could do that though it would be kind of sad.

Don’t make me remind you that friendship is, after all, magic! 😉

If this doesn’t sound like your scene, well then it’s probably not for you. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that one of the big things going on will be trading which can sometimes be a great way to snag something you really want (say a hard to find blind bag item) by trading another item for it instead of paying cash. It’s a magical world where ponies are currency so if your little sister has some older G3s she doesn’t want anymore and you could, say, trade them for the Friendship is Magic McDonalds ponies without spending a dime, wouldn’t that be sweet?

Anyway, in short, I hope this gives you some idea of what to expect and lets you make an educated decision about whether its for you. I for one am totally behind on FiM and am cram watching them all so I can be caught up by the convention and chat with you all. Stupid day jobs!

If anyone reading this has been to an MLP convention in the past and wants to chime in, please do. Or if you have questions post them below and I’ll see if I can get the Fair organizer (who is named Summer Hayes and is a lovely lady) to answer them.

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About The Author

Hillary got her very first pony in 1983 and has been hooked ever since! When she isn't obsessing about ponies, she can be found all over the internet as she writes for quite a few blogs. Hillary is also a playwright, fiction and non-fiction writer as well as the author of the first and only price guide to She-Ra collectibles.